1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to testing circuit components. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a device for conveniently testing circuit components such as silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs) and Triacs.
2. Background Information
A thyristor or silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) is a solid-state semiconductor device that can be used to function as a switch. The construction of an SCR includes four layers of semiconductor material arranged in alternating N-type and P-type layers. The Anode is provided at the outer P layer, the Gate is provided at the inner P layer, and the Cathode is provided at the outer N layer. SCRs are typically designed to be turned on only when a voltage pulse is applied to the Gate.
A Triac is essentially two SCRs joined back to back in parallel. A Triac can also be used to function as a switch. As individual SCRs are generally more flexible, they are more commonly used in complex, high-power circuits, whereas Triacs are more commonly used in simple, low-power circuits.
There are numerous models of SCRs and Triacs available on the market, and they are used for a wide variety of purposes. For example, SCRs may be used for direct current (DC) power plants. However, for a variety of reasons, testing of SCR and Triac functionality is typically performed, if at all, by building a circuit by hand to apply an appropriate voltage to the Gate and ensure the SCR or Triac is performing at design specifications. This process is time consuming and difficult for an inexperienced technician. However, some models of SCRs and Triacs are relatively expensive, such that great cost may be incurred if such SCRs and Triacs are not tested before being installed in the field. An entity that uses numerous SCRs and Triacs suffers great expense even in testing such components individually using hand-built testing circuits. However, even greater cost is incurred if untested SCRs and Triacs are used in field equipment where they ultimately fail to perform as expected.
Ohm-meters have been used to test SCRs and Triacs for functionality. However, simple ohm-meters are not capable of testing the full functionality of SCRs and Triacs. Further, as explained above, it is inefficient to continually build and modify circuits to test functionality of SCRs and Triacs.